New Publication: "Modern Religious Druidry: Studies in Paganism, Celtic Identity, and Nature Spirituality"

When it comes to the academic study of modern Paganism, considerable attention has been given to Wicca and related forms of modern Pagan witchcraft over the years. Several monographs and edited volumes have also looked at Heathenry, the Goddess Movement, and Pagan forms of modern Shamanism. In contrast, comparatively little research has been directed towards modern religious Druidry – this despite the fact that Druids are one of the largest groups active within the modern Pagan milieu. 

In an attempt to do something about this scholarly omission, around 2016 I decided – in tandem with the Druid-cum-anthropologist Jonathan Woolley – to assemble academics working in this area to produce the first scholarly edited volume devoted exclusively to the modern Druids. Finally, almost a decade on, our efforts have paid off. Palgrave Macmillan have just brought out our edited volume, Modern Religious Druidry: Studies in Paganism, Celtic Identity, and Nature Spirituality, as part of their Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities series.

As well as being lucky enough to have a great international roster of scholars contributing to Modern Religious Druidry, we have also been honoured by a foreword from Ronald Hutton and an afterword from Graham Harvey. Chapters have been written by myself, Jonathan Woolley, Adam Anczyk, Thorsten Gieser, Andy Letcher, Jenny Butler, Kimberly Kirner, Nicolas Boissière, Carole M. Cusack, and Suzanne Owen. Topics covered include the use of psychedelic drugs among (a minority of) Druids, how Druids reinterpret the notion of sacrifice to exclude Iron Age concepts of blood-spilling, and the ways in which practitioners develop their ecological knowledge in environments far from Northwest Europe.

We hope that the book will be of utility not only to those actively interested in modern Druidry and modern Paganism more widely, but also people researching the place of Celtic identity in the modern world and/or the concept of nature spirituality. Like many academic volumes, Modern Religious Druidry is certainly not cheap, but hopefully individuals with institutional affiliations can ask their libraries to order in a copy, or otherwise keep an eye out for one of Palgrave Macmillan’s sales.